What is a QR code? I’m glad you asked. It may just be one of the most important things you need to know for the future of marketing. And yet most have still not even heard of it.
Most experts believe that mobile smart phones will control marketing in the future mostly because of convenience but also because of the sheer number of people using them. They believe that QR codes will play a huge role in mobile tagging.
QR is short for “quick response” which means they can be quickly read by a cell phone.
I have a QR code app on my iPhone (QR Reader) and all I have to do is hold the phone over the code and the data I need is transferred to my phone. Much easier than typing the url into my phone. If you have a smart phone I highly recommend that you download an app now.
The thing that makes this so much better than the old fashion bar code is that it can hold so much more data, like text, geo coordinates, discount coupons, movie trailers or even your own videos. Plus it does not require any kind of additional scanner to read the code. Just a smart phone. And if that is not enough they are very easy to create.
In the near future you will begin to see QR codes in magazines, directories and on business cards. Now that you know what they are, you will be more aware of them and I think you will be really surprised at how much they are already out there.
So what should you do? Well if you have a blog or a website or a business card you need to get busy and get your QR code and get them on your “stuff”.
Here is an easy way, and it’s FREE!! Many of you know how much I love bitly. If you create a tiny URL through bit.ly they now automatically create a QR code so if you post something on a social media site the code is right there. Check out a couple of the posts on my Facebook business page.
Plus there is a great free tool with Google that does the same thing.
Go to http://goo.gl/ and enter your website in the search box.
Then copy that url into the url box and ad.qr at the end and voila your very own QR code.
Or just Google “create QR code”.
I encourage you to add QR codes to your website or blog. The search engines will see that your site has been updated and I believe they will soon begin recognizing these QR codes and indexing them.
Is anyone using them yet? Well Facebook actually kicked off the implementation of QR Codes last March but still I would wager to say you will be one of the first in your circle of friends with a QR code. You can impress them with you tech knowledge. You can create a buzz and interest for now, and you can be ahead of the curve for later.
Will they be widely used in the future? I believe they will. I love how easy it is to just hover over the QR code with my phone instead of typing in a website URL. The “tipping point” they say is when your mother recognizes and uses them.
Word has it that in Japan they are used everywhere. I’ve seen info stating that 95% of the all cell phones in Japan have the capability to scan QR codes and that they are on everything from McDonald’s ads to gravestones.
The “Google trends” chart shows a growing interest, but for the “tipping point” to kick in there will have to be consistent delivery of value.
Bottom line for me and you. It takes five minutes to create a QR code and from this point forward just add it to all marketing streams. It costs you nothing, it will generate some interest in the “what’s that” factor and maybe… just maybe it will be huge in the U.S. very soon.
For the more info you can check with good ole Wikipedia for the details.
Source by Candi R. May
